Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 496 › Conversation 496-005

Nixon & Ehrlichman on Legislative Strategy and Gerald Ford

Monday, May 10, 1971 · 12:46 PM–12:48 PM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation496-005 on Tape 496 (tape position 00:22:22–00:25:20)StartMonday, May 10, 1971 at 12:46 PMEndMonday, May 10, 1971 at 12:48 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 496-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman coordinated legislative strategy regarding key political figures, specifically Gerald Ford and Wilbur Mills, concerning upcoming policy or administrative appointments. They discussed the necessity of securing Ford’s public support and maneuvering Mills into a position where he would be compelled to endorse or accept their proposal. The conversation focused on tactical timing and leveraging political pressure to ensure the desired outcome before formalizing the plan.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I'm sure that...

I'm sure you'll go back to the real question of this device.

When do you all sign it?

Well, I assume maybe you can.

But all those people at the breakfast tent at 5 or 5 o'clock say, it don't seem like a good time to do it.

I'll see if we can move it out of court.

Let me sit with him.

Just to make it colder.

All right.

I'd say, look, we've got this, but it's...

It goes to this, this, this, this, and this, and this, and this.

And then if you could get over to Jerry in advance and say, now, Jerry, I want you to come out strongly for us, and we can get this, we can take it, but let's put those in the spot before he offers it.

I think I called Jerry and told him that there aren't a lot of things that went on.

If you could say to Jerry, he could say,

I'm afraid Nils will go first on this.

This is a damn good thing.

If I get Nils on the spot, Nils turns it down.

All right.

Okay.

NARA Description

On May 10, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:46 pm to 12:48 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 496-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 496-005

Date: May 10, 1971
Time: 12:46 pm - 12:48 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with John D. Ehrlichman

     [Unintelligible]

     Schedule
          -President's breakfast meeting, May 10, 1971
          -Gerald R. Ford
               -A position
          -Wilbur D. Mills
               -Agriculture
                -Nelson A. Rockefeller
               -Ford
               -Position

Ehrlichman left at 12:48 pm

Also recorded on May 10, 1971

496-006 12:48 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:48 pm and 12:57 pm.
496-007 12:48 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:48 pm and 12:57 pm.
496-008 12:48 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:48 pm and 12:57 pm.
496-009 12:57 PM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:57 pm to 1:30 pm.
496-010 1:30 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:30 pm and 2:35 pm.
496-011 2:35 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:35 pm to 2:39 pm.
496-012 2:40 PM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:40 pm to 3:08 pm.
496-013 3:08 PM · 1 hr 45 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Kathleen O'Melia, Ann Broomell, Tara O'Donahue, White House photographer, George P. Shultz, unknown person(s), Clark MacGregor, Stephen B. Bull, Ronald L. Ziegler, William P. Rogers, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:08 pm to 4:53 pm.

All 26 conversations from May 10, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 496-005, May 10, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/496-005 (accessed October 3, 2026).